Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Chrislip

Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Chrislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb¹, Jacob Christlieb², Abram Chrislip³, Ervin G. Chrislip⁴) [758], born 22 December 1871, Barbour County, West Virginia; died 1 August 1958, Philippi, Barbour County, West Virginia; burial 3 August 1958, Barbour County, West Virginia; married, Barbour County, West Virginia, 23 September 1903, Lawrence Francis McGee, son of John Wesley and Almira (McCauley) McGee, grandson of Jonathan C. and Elizabeth (Proudfoot) McGee.

"My grandfather, Lawrence Francis McGee, was born 8 March 1879, the son of John Wesley McGee and Almira McCauley. Almira was the daughter of Jackson and Catherine McCauley. Lawrence died on 25 September 1968, and is buried beside his wife, my grandmother, Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" (Chrislip) McGee in the Mt. Vernon Memorial Cemetery, near Philippi, West Virginia. Their son, Harold McGee, is buried beside them. Their son, Wendell McGee and his wife, Mabel (Murphy) McGee are buried on the opposite side of the stone in that family plot. My parents, Leslie and Eunice (Hall) McGee, are buried at the Bethany Cemetery, in the community of Hall, Barbour County, West Virginia." Mildred Louise Beer, 2018.

“Because my grandmother, Bessie Chrislip McGee, was eighty years young when I was born and passed away when I was only seven, I have scattered memories of time spent with her and my grandfather, Lawrence McGee, at their home near Philippi, West Virginia.”

“I am so blessed to now have so many of the treasures they used and cherished during their fifty-five years of marriage. As I sit on the ladder-back chair at the old oak farmhouse table, surrounded by vintage family treasures, I become a part of another time and place. I can hear the laughter around the table. I can see each family member seated at their place at the table. Grandmother Mary Elizabeth (fondly referred to as ‘Bessie’), Grandfather, Lawrence McGee, and their three sons, Leslie (my father), Wendell, and Harold. On many occasions, one would also find friends and neighbors joining them. My grandmother’s greatest joy was to cook large, tasty meals – and the table was always ready for hungry Harvest hands or Sunday company. I have so many of her recipes, written on tablet paper, faded with the years, and yet they will never taste as good as when she prepared them at that old wood fired stove.”

“Grandmother spent many cold winter days making quilts from the feed grain sacks, cutting the pieces, sewing them together on the 1884 Hartford treadle sewing machine, and then quilting them on the old quilting frames, with her kitty laying near her and by the glow of the oil lamp. Beautiful quilts, but most made for practical use on those cold, cold nights.” Excerpted from “Memories of a Chrislip Granddaughter – Her Link With the Past.” Mildred McGee Beer, Buckhannon, West Virginia, 26201.

Bessie and Lawrence McGee at their 50^th anniversary celebration.

Children of Mary Elizabeth Chrislip and Lawrence McGee

• Leslie Farel McGee (Friedrich Carl Christlieb¹, Jacob Christlieb², Abram Chrislip³, Ervin G. Crislip⁴, Mary Elizabeth Chrislip⁵) [759], born 16 September 1904, West Virginia; died 25 January 1988, West Virginia; burial in Bethany Cemetery, Barbour County, West Virginia. Leslie served as an elementary teacher and principal in the Barbour County School System. His service in education spanned 45 years. Leslie married Eunice Ellen Hall, born 2 August 1910, West Virginia; daughter of Clayton and Nannie (Murphy) Hall of Hall, West Virginia, in Oakland, Maryland, 6 September 1932. She died 13 August 2003, Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia, and was buried beside her husband in Bethany Cemetery, Barbour County, West Virginia.

• Wendell Oris McGee (Friedrich Carl Christlieb¹, Jacob Christlieb², Abram Chrislip³, Ervin G. Crislip⁴, Mary Elizabeth Chrislip⁵) [761], born 15 December 1907; died 29 January 1998 Wendell served in the US Army during World War II, from 28 December 1942 until 17 October 1945, and later worked as an automobile mechanic in Barbour County, West Virginia, for many years. He married Mabel Thelma Murphy, 23 December 1942. Mabel was born 10 September 1913; died 24 April 2000, Philippi, Barbour, West Virginia. Mabel and Wendell McGee were buried in Mount Vernon Memorial Cemetery, Philippi, Barbour County, West Virginia.

• Harold Everett "Mac" McGee (Friedrich Carl Christlieb¹, Jacob Christlieb², Abram Chrislip³, Ervin G. Crislip⁴, Mary Elizabeth Chrislip⁵) [762], born 20 July 1915, Barbour County, West Virginia; died 28 March 2004, Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia; burial in Mount Vernon Memorial Cemetery, Philippi, Barbour County, West Virginia. Harold "Mac" was an employee of the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., for 40 years. He was a member of Bigelow Lodge No. 52 AF & AM. Unmarried.